Neuro-functional modeling of near-death experiences in contexts of altered states of consciousness.
Raymond Romand, Günter Ehret
Frontiers in Psychology 2022 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.846159 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness Near-death experience |
| Keywords | Ndes/obes/g-locs Brain death Hallucinations Hypoxia Ischemic stress Neuro-functional models Out-of-body experience |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key findings | Neuro-functional models of altered states of consciousness collectively offer scientifically appropriate causal explanations for near-death experiences, with out-of-body experiences localized to the temporo-parietal junction. |
Abstract
Near-death experiences (NDEs) including out-of-body experiences (OBEs) have been fascinating phenomena of perception both for affected persons and for communities in science and medicine. Modern progress in the recording of changing brain functions during the time between clinical death and brain death opened the perspective to address and understand the generation of NDEs in brain states of altered consciousness. Changes of consciousness can experimentally be induced in well-controlled clinical or laboratory settings. Reports of the persons having experienced the changes can inform about the similarity of the experiences with those from original NDEs. Thus, we collected neuro-functional models of NDEs including OBEs with experimental backgrounds of drug consumption, epilepsy, brain stimulation, and ischemic stress, and included so far largely unappreciated data from fighter pilot tests under gravitational stress generating cephalic nervous system ischemia. Since we found a large overlap of NDE themes or topics from original NDE reports with those from neuro-functional NDE models, we can state that, collectively, the models offer scientifically appropriate causal explanations for the occurrence of NDEs. The generation of OBEs, one of the NDE themes, can be localized in the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) of the brain, a multimodal association area. The evaluated literature suggests that NDEs may emerge as hallucination-like phenomena from a brain in altered states of consciousness (ASCs).
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distressing Near-Death Experiences | 1992 | Review | |
| Attitude Change Following Near-Death Experiences Individuals who have had near-death experiences | 1980 | Review | n = 21 |
| Near-death experiences. | 2004 | Review | |
| The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences | 2009 | Review | |
| Near-death experiences in cardiac arrest survivors | 2005 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Suicide Following a Near-Death Experience. Crisis September 1, 2024
- The Bereaved Detachment Experience: An NDE-like Phenomenon. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying April 28, 2025
- Piecing the Puzzle: Towards Intensive Care Unit Nurses’ Understanding of Patients’ Near-Death Experiences British Journal of Nursing Studies September 10, 2023
- A virtual reality intervention to reduce death anxiety and stress in adults: examining the effect of a near-death experience simulation Frontiers in Virtual Reality September 29, 2025
- Un-binding the Umwelt: The Differential Contributions of the Five Classical Senses can be Understood Through Hindu Tantra Biosemiotics January 16, 2025
Cites 66
- The Experimental Induction of Out-of-Body Experiences Science August 23, 2007
- Out‐of‐body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin Brain January 15, 2004
- Two neural correlates of consciousness Trends in Cognitive Sciences January 13, 2005
- Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands The Lancet December 1, 2001
- Distilling the neural correlates of consciousness Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews December 17, 2011
and 61 more in the library